January 31, 2012

Are you a journalist?

Are you a journalist?

You write, report and publish. Does that make you a journalist? Who gets the front row seat at council's media table or the all-access pass to sporting and entertainment and political events? Does it matter where and how you publish? A U.S. federal judge thinks so.

You blog and tweet and use Facebook or publish a website or newsletter. Does that make you a journalist? The argument/debate about who is a journalist is not new. Rick Hughes, one of the Spec’s editors was doing some research on the issue and flagged a ruling that's reinvigorated the debate. It’s interesting because U.S. District Judge Marco Hernández from Oregon has made a list of the seven requirements he believes necessary to be a journalist. They are:

Education in journalism.

Credentials or proof of affiliation with a recognized news entity

Proof of adherence to journalistic standards such as editing, fact-checking, or disclosures of conflicts of interest

Keeping notes of conversations and interviews conducted

Mutual understanding or agreement of confidentiality between the defendant and his/her sources

Creation of an independent product rather than assembling writings and postings of others

Contacting “the other side” to get both sides of a story

"Without evidence of this nature, defendant is not ‘media," the ruling says.

The reaction has been swift and critical. It's by no means a definitive debate. I'd add descriptors that cover legal knowledge and access and code of conduct and ethics. Anyone can publish. Not everyone's a journalist.